Driving mechanism



Dec. 19,1939.

,1. w. ALLEN I DRIVING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 16. 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. Jose ob h/ Al/efl ORNE Dec. 19, 1939.

J. W. ALLEN DRIVINGVMECHANISM riled Nov. 16, v19 35 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR'. Jose 0h W ,4//e/7 Patented Dec. 19, 193 9 PATENT orncs 1DRIVING MECHANISM Joseph W. Allen, East Orange, N. J., assignor toEclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N. 3., a corporation of NewJersey Application November 16, 1935, Serial No. 50,229

This invention relates to clutch mechanism, and particularly to clutchmechanism of a selective engagement character, wherein the trans- Imission of torque mayoccur through one or the other of a plurality ofsets of clutch elements,

depending upon which is in the engaged position.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel construction and methodof operation ofsuch a clutch mechanism.

1 K second major object is to combine with such a clutch mechanism anadditional yieldable clutch means enabling the motor to overrun thedriven element as soon as the latter-reaches the limit of its travel.This is of special importance in the;

actuation' of aircraft landing gear, the improvement of whichconstitutes a third major object of certain conditions, of actuating adriven shaft 8 also journalled in an extension 9 of the housing 1, asimilar extension ll being provided as a means of housing a motor orother actuating means for the shaft 5.

The elements involved in the choice of driving means for the drivenshaft 8 (which may be the actuator of a landing gear such as that of theMinshall Patent No. 2,005,980.;of June 25,1935, or some other load to bedriven) include a solenoid l3 and a bevel gear i4 herein shown asintegral with the enlarged and centrally bored end it of the drivenshaft 8 and so located with respect to-the driving shafts 5 and 6 thatit is capable of receiving rotation from either of said shafts dependingupon whether it is in a lefthand position as shown in Fig. 1, or'. itsrighthand position (not shown). Inthe former position the clutch teethll which are formed upon the hollow end of the shaft ii are fullyengaged with the correspondingly shaped teeth l8 on the lcorrespondingly bored end of the shaft 5, while in the latter positionthe teeth I! and I8 are disengaged (as in Fig. 2), but the teeth ofbevel gear M are fully meshed with those of the correspondingly shapedbevel pinion 2| shown herein as an integral extension of the drivingshaft 6, the

scams. (01. 7 4-383) outer end of which is provided with a pin 23 orother suitable means serving for attachment of a sleeve 24 or othermanually operable instrumentality. A coil compression spring 21constantly bears against a collar 28 held fast to the a 5 inner end ofshaft 5 by suitable means 23 and thus constantly exerts a pressure onthe shaft 5 tending to demesh the teeth I8 from the teeth I! of theshaft 8. Spring 21 therefore opposes the pull of the solenoid l3 and thelatter when ener- 10 gized acts upon the shaft 5 which constitutes amovable magnetizable core with respectto the winding I 3, a sleeve 3| ofnon-magnetizable material being wrapped about that portion of the core 5which is on the left of the center line of 14 the coil l3 so that theeffect of the magnetic flux resulting from energization of the coil I3is to draw the shaft Ito the left, that is, from the position indicatedin Fig. 2 to the position indicated in Fig. 1, the gear l4 moving withthe said a shaft 5 by reason of the interlocking projections 33 and 34formedupon the shaft 5 and the gear is respectively. Uponde-energization of the solenoid l3 these interlocking projections aresimilarly effective to draw the gear l4 into mesh 88 I with the gear 2|in response to the thrust exerted by the expansion of the spring 2'!from its fully compressed position, as shown in Fig. 1, to

its extended position as shown in Fig. 2. I The left-hand end of thespring 21 rests against collar or disc 4| which engages the shoulder 42of the relatively stationary sleeve 43 constituting the inner race of afriction disc clutch 44 consisting of a plurality of interleavingfriction plates splined alternately to the sleeve 43 and a second sleeveor shell 46 having an inwardly turned rim 41 secured to a driving member48 by a suitable means such as'that indicated at 49,' the said drivingmeans 48 being a part integral with or connecting to the. armature ofthe elec--. 4o tric motor indicated diagrammatically at iii in Fig. 3.Transmission of torque from the clutch elements 48, 44 and 43 to theshaft 5 is provided for in the form of splines 53 on the shaft 5engaging corresponding splines on the inner sur- 45 face of the sleeve43, theouter surface thereof being threaded to receive a nut 56 whichconstitutes a means .for adjusting the pressure of springs 58 and hencethe torque transmitting capacity of the clutch 44. If desired, rollerbear- 5o ings 6| may be interposed between the tubular extension 82 andthe shaft 5 and the tubular extension l5 of the shaft 8 to facilitaterelative rotation therebetween during the period of drive from the gear2|, at which time the clutch teeth 55 mi e I! and It are disengaged. Oneend ofthe sole A to be referred. of the motor at O6 in Figs. 1 and 2,and this noid winding I3 is shown grounded to the frame groundconnection is correspondingly designated 5 in the diagram constitutingFig. 3, the opposite end of the winding being indicated in Fig. 3 asconnecting to one terminal post 61 of a switch' in circuit with abattery Bl constituting the source of current for the electric motor 5|.The latter is preferably provided with four brushes as indicated in Fig.3 and separate windings II and one of which is energized to produceclockwise rotation of the motor in one position of 'switch'llfiand theother of which is .energized 15 to produce counterclockwise 'rotationofthe motor in the oppodte position of the switch, said switchbeingconnected with the source" as in dicated at 03. Preferably switchII is in'a pilot circuit to relays l9 and I. which in turncontrolswitches ll and $2 respectively, through which the main current for themotoris caused to flow,

the flow of current to the solenoid is being brought about by either oneor the other of the bridging elements 83- and 94, depending upon whichof thesolenoids 89 or 90 is energized. In

- =-other words, the energization of the motor ii in either a clockwiseor counterclockwise direction results in a concurrent energization ofthe sole-' noid l3 and hence in a closure ofthe clutch ll, 80' II. Inthe event however, that it is desired to dispense with electricaloperation, driven member mm being effective only upon the clutch ele--ment It to move said clutch element into engage ii; ment with the drivenmember ",the two elements being normally disengaged by the action ofspring 21 operating in the manner previously described with referencetoFig. 1. With this simplified arrangement it is possible to operate thedriven member 8 from the manually operable shaft 6 without effecting anymovement of the motor driven shaft 5 or parts associated therewith, justas in the embodiment previously described; duringmotor actuationhowever. the ehitrtc; and parts associated therewith will be turned bythe driven shaft 0 due to theperma-K ,nent mesh'between the gears l4 andIL-This idletumingoftheshai'tiisnotn -obiectionable in allinstallations, but where it is notdesiredtheembodimentofl'ig. iisofcourse,

In er embodiment, the pre-set clutch 4| enables the motor to'overrun theshaft I as soon as the landing gear, or other "limited stroke 5 load,reaches the end of its travel, and even though the clutch [1, It remainsengaged (due to tardiness in de-energizing coil It, or for any otherreason).

It is to be understood that these drawings are 10 for the purp fie 'ofillustration only and are not to be construed as a limitation of thescope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose ..totheappended claims.

What I claim is: 15 i. In a driving mechanism, a pair of drivingelements, a driven element common to both said driving elements,electro-magnetic means adjacent one .of said driving elements to causesaid a one of said driving elements to engage said driven element,resilient means for shifting "the driving connection to the other ofsaid driving-elements. and means for concurrently producing rotation .ofone of said driving elements and energization of said electro-magneticmeans. 25

q 2. Ina drlvingmechanism, a pair of dri elements, a driven elementcommon to both'said driving elements, electro-magnetic means: adjacentone of said driving elements ,to cause :said one of said drivingelements to engage 'said driven element, resilient m for causing thefirst-named driving elemen to be withdrawn from engagement with saiddriven element, and

.means for concurrently'producing rotation of one. of said drivingelements and energization of driving elements, el magnetic means interposed between 'saidtdri elements to cause one '40 of said driving elemts to-"engage said driven element, resilientmeans for shifting thedriving connection to the other .of said driving elements, and means forconcurrently producing. rotation of one of said drivingtelem'ents' andenn' 4t of said electro-magnetic mean's.

4. In a driving-mechanism, a pair. of driving elements, a driven elementcommon to both said driving elements, electro-magnetic means interposedbetween saidldriving elements to cause one 50-? of said driving elementsto engage said driven element, resilientmeans for shifting the drivingconnection to the other of said driving elements and by the sam'e actioncausing the first-named driving-element to bewithdrawn from engage- '65ment with said driveryelement, and means for concurrently producingrotation-of onei'of said driving elements and energization of saidelectromagnetic means.

